Technology Integration

During my observations, computers that are assigned for student use were not in the science classroom because it was summer school. However, during the school year they do have computers available to students for further research in science topics. During the lesson, the teacher would involve technology primarily by placing the question of the day on the overhead screen for the students to see. She would then incorporate articles or pictures dealing with the lesson by using the search engine on the teachers' computer. Also, the teacher would show students videos on Brain Pop on different subjects depending on the lesson planned for the day. They are very informative but appealing to the students which helps them retain the material they learn. At school, students are allowed to use the computer for academic use, however if they did try to utilize it for anything else the filter that the school placed on the computer would not allow it. I would definitely use technology for my teaching purposes, it is very effective and it helps the students. I wouldn't promote websites like facebook and twitter to students because it can be dangerous for them even if the websites have restrictions when it comes to looking at people's pages. I would implement the use of a form of blackboard because students are able to use the resources when the teacher is not available to ask questions to directly, and if they did need to ask a question, they could just send a mail through the website. It is a website that is strictly dealing with academics and therefore does not pose a threat to students. There are also other websites that I would recommend to students like Brain Pop and Discovery kids, which have alot of information for students of their age on different subjects that are interesting to them.